Clearing the Air

I think from reading this blog on a regular basis you’d know that I haven’t been particularly impressed with the teaching part of the exchange year that I’ve had.  Again I will be very clear that it is NOT the staff that I’ve been working with NOR is it the students that I teach.  I’ve met some really great, hard working, dedicated teachers.  I’d love to bring many of them back with me to my school in Canada.   As for my class, anyone at home can tell you that I always love my class.  There is something about the little faces that show up in my room day after day eager to learn.  Obviously some students can be more challenging than others but I strongly believe that kids are kids and all need positive attention and support.  However, the school has been under a year of transition with a variety of changes and I’ve just been caught in the middle of it.   I want to be perfectly clear that it is NOT the fault of my exchange partner and I have never and will never blame her for this year.  She had no idea of the type of year that I was walking into.  On a positive note, as I said before the new principal is trying her very best to turn the school around and it isn’t an easy job.  But with the staff she has and her determination I know that things can only get better.   My exchange partner will be returning to a very different school than the one she left behind.

A Great Week with a Weekend I'd Rather Forget

This past week has had its ups and downs.  Monday evening I finally made contact with Barb, another retired teacher from my school back in Canada.  She and her husband Dave were on my sister Judy's flight from Vancouver four weeks ago.  They have been travelling around Australia and only just got to Melbourne.  She and I talked for two hours and arranged to meet up on Wednesday. Nancy arrived back into Melbourne late Monday evening too so it was good to hear about her adventures.

At school this week the teachers found out about their grade placements for next year.  It's done a lot differently than what I'm used to in Canada but in the end most teachers are in new assignments for next year.  I am told this is done to put the teachers in positions that will best benefit the children.  What it will actually look like next year is most teachers have shifts in assignments.  I have heard that some of the upper grade teachers will be teaching lower grades, and some lower grade teachers will be teaching upper grades.  Some of the specialists will be going into classrooms while some classroom teachers will be moving into specialist roles.  Ultimately they are trying to make the best school they can for next year. 

A couple other things  that I found interesting as I watched the young teachers apply for new jobs for next year is that they apply for a school not an actual grade level.  So when they accept their jobs they don't know what grade they will be teaching.  Obviously they will find out sooner or later but it's just such a foreign concept to me.  Back at home we usually have a pretty good idea of what we will be teaching the following year (with possible adjustments depending on the numbers in September).  In addition job interviews took place in the middle of the day so the teachers left school for their interviews.  At home this would never happen.  Interviews take place before or after school but certainly not during school hours.

But that is enough about work for now.  Wednesday evening I quickly rode home from work to greet Barb and Dave at my Melbourne "home".  It was so nice to see them.  The four of us (yes, Nancy is still with me) walked through my neighbourhood and over to Brunswick Street for a great Greek meal.  Nancy and I walked home and after another poor sleep I was back at work on Thursday.

I'm pretty exhausted these days entertaining visitors while writing report cards and travelling on weekends.  But I'm happy to have the visitors because it's been a long year for me and the company helps me remember how good I have it at home.  My travel is also what I live for because quite frankly the teaching exchange part of this year is nothing that I signed up for.  I realize I can't function on little sleep like this for much longer but I also know that my year of teaching here in Australia is just about over.  I will get through it and I am very excited to return to my school back home. 

This weekend, with reports due (and handed in) on Friday morning, Nancy and I had plans to head to Daylesford which is the spa capital of Victoria.  We had talked about getting massages and pedicures, and all those wonderful things that can take some of the stress away.  But instead of pampering ourselves I spent a lot of the weekend in our wonderful B&B rewriting my report cards.  To make matters worse my laptop stopped working on Sunday morning and I may have lost everything.  The re writing of reports is a whole other story but I won't share it on this blog.    Needless to say I'm frustrated and angry.

Thankfully I didn't let it ruin my entire weekend.  Nancy and I snooped around Daylesford which is a small town catering to tourists.  There is a lot of history here and some really cute shops.  We had some great food and stayed in a wonderful B&B.  Nancy and I have had some pretty good chuckles about red wine, and whether or not the title of Red Wine Nancy really belongs to her. On Sunday we checked out the Convent Gallery and the local market.  We were suppose to come home on the 5:55 pm bus/train combination but a wonderful couple from the B&B offered to drive us back to Melbourne mid day.  I’m still worrying about my reports but I’m much more comfortable worrying about them in my own home.  Professional I have dealt with far more than I ever signed up for.  Thankfully the teaching part of the exchange is just about over.   

Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Daylesford's Main Shopping Street

A B&B in Daylesford

Lake Daylesford

Lake Daylesford

Inside the Convent

A sample of the stained glass

Another spot inside the convent

Wellington Point and the Movember Mousdash

Judy left my place early Friday morning and headed back to Canada.  Work was uneventful  and it was nice to have another week done.  I managed to get a fair bit done on my report cards without really feeling like it was taking away much of my personal time.

Friday night Lu, Cas, and their nephew Simon showed up at my place around 10 pm.  I stayed in their home the week earlier in Echuca.  They stayed the weekend and it was nice to be able to return the favour.

Saturday morning I was up early and back to the Melbourne airport.  This time  I headed to Brisbane to see my friend Jenny Smith (from Canada) and her family.  It was  a really great weekend away and it was nice to spend time with her and her crew.  She has a great husband and two wonderful children.

Anyhow, Jenny and her daughter Emma picked me up at the airport at little past 10 am and we headed straight to D.F.O. (designer warehouse shopping).  I haven’t really come to Australia to shop so to no surprise of mine I didn’t buy anything.  They were both successful though getting what they wanted and needed.  From there we headed to Jenny’s home in Wellington Point.  It’s an outer suburb of Brisbane but it’s right on Moreton’s Bay and really beautiful.  We did a walk to the point and Jenny told me lots of interesting things about the area.  We spent the evening at home enjoying great Thai food before I totally crashed and had to go to bed (I haven’t been sleeping much the past few days).

Wellington Point

(King Island in the Distance)

View from Wellington Point

Me, Jenny, and Emma

Saturday morning Jenny, Ray, and I were up around 4 am.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Jenny registered me for the Mousdash 10.5 km run for Movember.  It’s a run to raise awareness and funds for Prostate cancer.  It’s tradition for the men to grow a moustache in the month of November for this run.  Anyhow the race was a drive away and it started at 7 am.  We left the house at about 4:45 am and were at the race sight before 6 am for on sight registration and what not.

Jenny and Ray  pre race

(Notice Ray's two week moustache)

Jenny had mentioned that I might want to check out the web site because the run was a bit hilly.  Hilly was an understatement.  The run started at the base of Mt Coot-tha and went up, up, up.  The look out for the city of Brisbane is on Mt Coot-tha.  Anyhow if you’ve been following my great running this year (ie the non existent running) you’ll know that a hilly course is certainly something I can’t really run these days.  So, I did warn Ray and Jenny that they might want to bring snacks as they waited for me to finish the race.

But back to the race. The course starts on an up hill and just goes up.  For any of you that have done the Peach Classic Triathlon it’s like the run portion of that race but it starts at the bottom of the first major hill - ie no flat section to warm up with first.  It felt like we went up and up and up.  We hit the look out some what quickly but we still continued to climb.  Obviously at some point we did get to go down hill but I swear there was WAY more up hill than down hill.

You can make out the start banners and you can see the course went straight up hill.

(this was taken after the race)

The MT stands for MOUNTAIN!!

What I saw for most of the run (or maybe I should say walk)

The photo doesn't really show the up hill but TRUST ME it was up hill)

Proof I made it to an aid station.

Anyhow eventually I finished and managed to run my slowest 10.5 km run ever!!!  But I didn’t expect much more than that since I’m totally out of running shape,and it was HILLY!! The pictures I have don’t do the course any justice unfortunately.

If you look in the distance on the left at the back you can faintly make out a television tower.  I ran PAST that tower.  This picture was taken on the way back to the car so hopefully it gives you an idea of the UP HILL running/walking I had to do.

After the run we went for a great breakfast in Wellington Point before Jenny and Ray took me for a drive to Manly (not the Sydney one the Brisbane one) and Wynnum.  Both are on Moreton’s Bay and both are very beautiful too.  They were telling me about how they weren’t all that desirable locations but it just had us all laughing because it was so beautiful on the water.  They also showed me a traditional Queensland house - built on stilts.  Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of the houses.

Manly

From there we  returned to the Smith-Smith house and had a wonderful lunch before they took me back to the airport for my flight back to Melbourne.  

Nancy H. returns to Melbourne tomorrow night and so I’m sure we’ll get up to some trouble.  Barb F-F and her husband Dave are also in Melbourne at the moment .  Barb, Nancy, and I all worked together in Canada except Barb and Nancy are now retired.  It will be really great to see both of them at the same time.

Anyhow that’s the update for this weekend.  Next weekend Nancy and I are heading to Daylesford which is the “Spa” capital of the state of Victoria.  My report cards are also due on Friday for colleague editing so some where in all this fun I need to make sure I get them finished.

Only five more weeks until I’m HOME!!!  So much to do still and so little time left.

Christmas Windows in Myers

This evening Judy and I checked out the South Melbourne Night Market.  Unfortunately it was a bit of a bust so we ended up snooping around the "city".  We stumbled upon the Christmas display windows in the Myers Department Store.  The main character in the windows is Olivia, the little pig that has many stories written about her.  Anyhow, here are a few snapshots of the windows.  They are really quite cute.

Mike and Nancy, Jersey Boys, and Echuca

On Monday morning Nancy and Mike arrived at my Melbourne "home" and Judy was still here too.  Nancy cooked up a great pasta meal and we enjoyed some wine.  It was nice to be surrounded by friends and family all at the same time.  Judy left for her Sydney and Queensland adventure early Tuesday morning.  Nancy and Mike know some people here in Melbourne so they spent the day with them while I went to Tracy's for Melbourne Cup fun.

I didn't actually see Mike and Nancy again until Thursday evening because their Melbourne cup luncheon turned into a driving adventure, dinner, and a late night back to my place.  Wednesday they went off to see the Penguins on Phillip Island, and Thursday they spent the day on the Mornington Peninsula with the same friends.  Thursday after work we finally met up again at my place.  They had bought a ticket for me to go see the musical Jersey Boys with them as a thank you for allowing them to stay with me (totally not necessary but totally appreciated).  The show was fantastic and I'm really glad we were able to go.


Friday after my long day of work we reunited again and headed to Lygon Street for another great meal.  A couple bottles of red wine later we were back at my place enjoying some fresh strawberries and a wonderful dessert wine (thanks Tammy and Graeme).  Needless to say my sleep that night wasn't as much about sleep as it was about having a nice amount of wine in my body.

Saturday I was up early to catch the 9:15 am train to Echuca. Before leaving for Southern Cross Railway station I had to say goodbye to Nancy and Mike.  Nancy will be back in Melbourne in a little over a week but I won't see Mike until I'm back in Canada.

Back to the Echuca adventure.  Lu and her husband Ian are on exchange from England and they are living in Echuca, Victoria.  Echuca is about 3 hours away by train and it's right on the Victoria/NSW boarder.  In its glory days it was a port town because it's right on the Murray River.  It played a huge role in getting wool to the ships to be sent off to England.

Lu was kind enough to meet me at the train station even though she had a house full of company.  Although I was staying in their home they weren’t actually go to be there because they were staying at a cabin about 30 minutes away. After a quick trip to their place to drop off my bag they dropped me off at the Port of Echuca.  I wandered around the old port and after getting some lunch (at apparently one of the best fish and chip shops in Victoria) I boarded the Alexander Arbuthnot steam paddle boat.  I took a sixty minute trip up the Murray River. What I noticed most was how low the water is.  In the photo below you can see the roots of the trees being exposed because the water levels are so low.

It was pretty cool to see other paddle boats travel up and down the river as most are very old with a lot of history of their own.

After the boat ride was over I spent some time checking out the Echuca Warf and its history.  

Euchca Wharf 

I went on the yellowish boat in the front

(more proof of low water levels)

The shops in the port/wharf area.

It was pretty interesting to see the displays and learn a bit more about the town.  Once I had enough history I walked around town a bit more. I  ventured over the bridge into New South Wales and the small town of Moama.  Moama and Echuca are two towns side by side but in two completely different states.

From Moama I walked back to Lu and Ian’s place.  By this time I was pretty exhausted because it was very hot out.  (I’m not complaining because I’ve been waiting for a hot day like this in Victoria for a very long time).  I did a bit a work on my report cards and was in bed early.

This morning I was up early and after working on my reports for an hour or so I strolled back to the wharf area.  I had a snack at the Beechworth Bakery (I went to the original one a few months back in the town of Beechworth).  I enjoyed my treat on the back deck looking out towards the Campaspe River.

 It was another HOT day (still not complaining though).

Campaspe River

I snooped around Echuca a bit more before heading back to Lu and Ian’s to collect my bag for my train ride back to Melbourne.

It was a good weekend to recharge my battery after non stop company and adventures.  It also allowed me to get a bit of work done on my report cards (there isn't a whole lot to do on a three hour train ride except report cards - or nap).  I’m determined to not let them cut too much into my adventures and time with company.  My time here is going by very quickly.  Only six more weeks of work which means I’ll be home in six and a half.  Wow time is ticking by even quicker.  I'm excited to be reunited with my friends and family but I still have way too much I want to see and do here in Australia.

Melbourne Cup

Yesterday I had a day off from work because of a HORSE RACE!  The entire city had a public holiday for this race.  Trust me I'm NOT complaining.

Tracy from work invited me to her place for a BBQ to celebrate Melbourne Cup.  Another friend had already tried to convince me to go to the actual race course (which I ride past on my bike every day) but I wasn't all that interested in wearing a dress, heals, and a hat; and watch people get totally drunk all day long.  I've heard how messy it can get there and after I looked at some of the photos in the paper this morning I'm glad I didn't go.

Anyhow, back to Tracy and her BBQ.  I arrived about 12:30 and was warmly greeted by her friends and family.  Tracy had put out an amazing spread and I don't think I'll have to eat for the next week or so.  While at the BBQ people were talking about making bets on the horses. The easiest way to do it was to join the "sweep" .  For a dollar or two (depending on the sweep) you just add your name to the list.  Since there were 24 horses (then 23 since one horse was a scratch) 23 people could go into each sweep.  Once a sweep is filled numbers are randomly drawn and each person is assigned a number which correlates to a horse.  If you end up with the number of the winning horse (or the horse that comes in second or third) you win some of the pot.  Tracy had four of these sweeps on the go so I joined all four at $2, $2, $1, and $1.  I didn't get any horses I would have chosen and so none of my horses placed.  But..... there was one small prize for having the last place horse and I won that on one of my sweeps.  So at this point I'm down five dollars.

Another type of betting that was going on was the official betting.  In Victoria there are places all over the state that you can make bets at.  Most of the parents were letting their kids make a bet on a horse or two.  I figured I should give it a go too so I headed to the local TAB with one of the dad's and placed my bets.  The horse name I liked best was called "Shocking" because that's one word I hear a lot around my school particularly when they are talking about what a student did (or didn't do).  I bet on it to place or win, along with four other horses.  I bet a total of $10 (yah I know not a big spender) and waited for the race to begin.

At 3:00 pm the race was on.  Everyone in the house gathered around the tv.  The race itself only lasted a minute or two (maybe three?) and in the end SHOCKING WON!  I was pretty excited because I had picked that horse.  As it turned out another one of the horses I picked came in third place too.  I knew I had won some money but I had no idea how much.

Once the race was over everyone went back to doing what they were doing before, eating, drinking, chatting etc..  There were still more races but no one really paid any attention to them.

When it was time to go home Tracy dropped me back at the station.  My train and tram connections were great and I was almost home in no time.  I decided that I wanted to check my TAB ticket to see how much money I had won with my win and my third place.  I got off the tram one stop early and headed to TAB.  My winning ticket ended up being worth $21.70 so I was up $11.70 on my original investment of $10.  Not bad I thought to myself.  With the $5 loss in the sweeps at Tracy's and the $11.70 win through the official bet, I was up $6.70.

Things only got better when I went to work today.  At work on Monday we had the opportunity to join in sweeps - 50 cents, $1, and $2.  I joined all three of them.  I ended being drawn the third place horse in the $2 sweep so I was given $8.  Yah, more money.  So let's see, I was up $6.70, then I won $8 from work but I had invested $3.50 so in the end I won $11.20 after covering all my wages.   Not bad for a non gambler betting on her first (and possibly only) Melbourne Cup.

But the best part of all was.... I HAD A DAY OFF FROM WORK!!!

Tassie Oct 29 - Nov 1, 2009

Thursday after work I headed off to the airport to catch a flight to Launceston, Tasmania.  I met my sister Judy at the airport with only a few minutes to spare but we arrived safely on Tasmania about one hour later.

The next morning we boarded a small bus and travelled towards Cradle Mountain.  As we drove towards our first stop I admired the green rolling hills, the mountains in the back ground and the many many sheep.  It was stunning to see so many colours.

Our first stop was in the town of Sheffield.  It is famous for its many wall murals which depict the history of the area.

One of Many Wall Murals on Sheffield

From Sheffield we headed to Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park.  After a snoop around the visitor centre we headed to the start of our hike.  Lucky for us the sky was clear and I was able to take a few photos of Cradle Mountain and its reflection on Dove Lake. Cradle Mountain was named that because if you look carefuly there is a little baby sleeping between the two higher peaks.

Because we were on a small organized tour we didn't have time to hike all the way to the base of the mountain so we chose to hike to Marion's Look Out.  The hike up was beautiful as we passed lakes, streams, and a variety of vegetation.  Unfortunately the weather wasn't all that cooperative and as we got closer to our destination the rain just poured and we got utterly soaked.  In addition by the time we got to the lookout we were totally socked in and couldn't see anything except white clouds all around us.

Cradle Mountain

Wombat Pool

Cradle Mountain from the Lookout

A Quick Chance for a photo with the Mountain Showing in the Background

After layering on all the clothing we had (and could borrow from our guide) we headed back down towards the carpark.  We took a slightly different route back and it took us past Cradle Lake, and Crater Falls.

Cradle Lake

         Cradle Falls

Judy doing her very best to keep warm.

Our final stop was at a local cheese factory where we were able to try all types of cheese.  My two favourites were the  Wasabi Cheddar, and the Lavendar Cheddar.  From there we arrived safely back in Launceston.  Judy and I and managed to stumble upon a great Italian restaurant for dinner. Once we were warm and feed all we could talk about was what a great day we had.

The following morning we jumped into our car and made the two hour journey to Freycinet National Park.  Again the views that surrounded us as we drove through the windy quiet roads were amazing.  After paying our park entrance fee, and on the recommendation of the park ranger our first stop was at the Carp Bay Lookout.  Our next stop was at Honeymoon Bay before we finally parked the car at the carpark for the Wineglass Bay hike.

View from Carp Bay

(You can see Wine Glass Bay in the far back)

Honeymoon Bay

(This photo does not do the water colours any justice)

The hike up to the lookout to Wineglass Bay says it's a 45 minute hike (90 minutes return).  With in about twenty minutes or so (stopping for photos along the way) Judy and I were at the look out.  The view of the bay was amazing as too were the views of the large rocks that surrounded us.

Obviously the lookout wasn't good enough for us so we hiked down the other side to spend some time right on Wineglass Bay.  It took us about 45 minutes to go from the car park to the white sand of wineglass bay, and even less time to get back (less stopping for photos).  The sun was warm and there was nothing Judy or I could complain about.

Wine Glass Bay from the Lookout

The Rocks and Boulders

Wineglass Bay up close and personal!

From Freycinet National Park Judy and I travelled towards Bicheno on the East Coast of Tasmania.  Along the way we stopped for a quick view at Friendly Beaches.  About forty minutes later we were in Bicheno checking into our motel.  The hosts were really fantastic.  They helped us out with everything we needed including offering to have breakfast delivered to our door in the morning for a very reasonable price.  Obviously Judy and I took advantage of that luxury (and it was really good too).

Friendly Beaches

While we were cleaning up for the day of hiking in the heat Nancy H. and her hubby Mike (from  Canada) made their way over to our motel.  Luck had it they were also in the same part of Australia on the same night as we were.  It was so great to see them both and Nancy gave me the biggest hug ever.  So there I was surrounded by my sister and my friends.  It felt so nice.

We headed for diner in Bicheno before heading back to their cabin for some Aussie wine.  We sat out on a beach right at the waterside and we were surrounded by these incredible rocks.  The coast line here in Bicheno was a different type of beautiful.

Bicheno Coast Line

Nancy and I enjoying Wine at the Beach

(The water is just right infront of us)

After two bottles of wine were finished Mike drove Judy and I back to our motel.  As we were leaving their sight we saw heaps of Possums milling about.  I tried to capture one in the tree.

Mr. Possum

After a good sleep (okay maybe a bit red wine induced), and a wonderful motel service breakfast, Judy and I  snooped around Bicheno one last time before heading Deloriane in North West (ish) Tasmania.

The Bicheno Blow Hole

The reason why we headed to Deloraine was because we happened to be on Tasmania on the weekend of the Tasmanian Craft Fair and it was being held there.  Judy and I snooped around there a bit walking from venue to venue.  In the end the items available weren't all that impressive but it was nice to walk around the town.  Having said that though I picked up a super cute winter hat and judy picked up a great scarf/shall/poncho type thing.

So from Deloraine we headed back to the airport, flew back to Melbourne (exhausted) and had a great Thai meal.  I went off to work on Monday, and Nancy and Mike arrived in Melbourne.  So by the time I got home from work Judy, Mike, and Nancy were all here chatting up a storm and preparing a wonder dinner.  Obviously more red wine was provided and it was a great evening.

Today, it's Melbourne Cup day which is a public holiday in Melbourne so I don't have to go to work.  I'm not heading to the race course but I have been invited out to a Melbourne Cup BBQ. Nancy and Mike are off to visit some of their friends here too.

More on Melbourne Cup perhaps in another blog later today.  In the mean time I'm going to go back to enjoying my Canadian company.